Conclusions:
It was found that, as expected, the rice grains exposed to higher levels of humidity showed higher rates of protease activity. It was also found that those rice samples exposed to the humidifiers over longer periods of time showed higher rates of protease activity. Citric acid was found to be very effective in the inhibition of the enzyme responsible for rice degradation. It was more effective, in fact, than known protease inhibitors pepstatin and iodoacetamide. As citric acid is a food-grade chemical, it would be possible to eventually develop some form of concentrated capsule to be used in the protection of rice crops to prevent food spoilage in developing countries.